Visors for use in military and law-enforcement helmets are known such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,901,369 and 4,536,892. These visors provide pivot arrangements on opposite lateral sides of the visor to allow the visor to be pivoted upward away from the user's face when the visor is not deployed. The visor is held in a deployed position in front of the user's face by locking of the pivot arrangements.
This headgear typically takes the form of a helmet having a hard outer shell formed of a synthetic composite material, and an inner foamed polymer lining. The hard outer shell withstands shock loads, while the resiliency of the foamed lining evenly dissipates the forces of the shock load over a wider area. This interaction between the outer shell and liner helps to protect the helmet wearer against head injury, such as a concussion. A visor or face shield is typically attached to the helmet to cover at least a portion of a helmet front opening. The visor protects the face and eyes of the wearer. A mounting mechanism attaches the visor to the helmet to permit raising and lowering of the visor between in use or deployed position and stowed position.
Protective headgear comprising a helmet and a visor which is mounted via a mechanism to permit visor movement between stowed and use positions are generally known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,901,369; 5,604,930; 5,182,816; 5,012,528; 3,833,935; and 2,860,343 all describe helmet and visor assemblies.
The present inventors have recognized that there is a need for improved protective headgear for soldiers. In particular, present inventors have recognized there is a need for headgear having a mounting mechanism for a visor that allows a soldier to quickly and easily move the visor between deployed and stowed positions and also to quickly and easily remove the visor from the helmet for replacement or cleaning.